Container-cover stay



Sept. 30, 1930. C, EME'RY .I 1,776,944

CONTAINER COVER STAY v Filed May 51, 1929 INVENToR. a/Ld BY v @vioue ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 30, 1193()` UNiTEolsrArEs PATENT OFFICE' CHARLES H. EMER-Y, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO YHARTMANN TRUNK -VCOM- PANY, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, A. CORPORATION F 'WISCONSIN CONTAINER-Govan STAY Appneation filed May 31, 19229. semaine. 367,374.

rIhis invention relates to improvements in contamer cover stays. Y Containers, hat boxes, and pieces of luggage, in which a cover is hingedly connected to the body, are usually provided with'flexible straps or strips extended between inner side portions of the body and inner side portions of the cover, said strips being for the purpose of preventing the cover from being opened too vfar and holding it in a tilted vopen position. Difficulty is encountered with these strips, however, in closing the container, as the strips are elongated, and when the cover is closed said strips break or fold medially, and the tendency is for the folded portions thereof to project outwardly between the Valances of the container, and outwardly of the container, and the same prevent a perfect closure of the container sections and are unsightly when projecting out of the closed container.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide container'cover stays arranged so as to always fold or break inwardly of the confines of the container,

when the cover 1s closed, so as to be'completely confined.

A further object of the invention is to provide container cover stays constructed with a partial rigid reinforcement to influence the same in breaking or folding interiorly of a container when the cover to which they are att-ached is moved to closed position.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide container cover stays which are inexpensive to manufacture, and with which a container or piece of luggage may be readily equipped.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container cover stay which is of very simple construction, is strong and durable, and is well adapted for the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved container cover stay, and its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims, andall equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing, in which the same reference charactersV indicate the same parts in all of the views: o Y

Fig. 1 is a side view of a container with its cover in open positionwithjthe improved stays connected between the cover and inner portions of the side walls of the containerv body;

Fig. 2 1s an enlarged fragmentary view,`

partly in vertical section, of a wardrobe case provided with the improved cover stays, there also being a dotted line showing of the lcover and stays when the former is in open position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail sectional viewtaken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 isan enlarged detail front view of a cover stay with part broken away and in section; and j Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the cover stay. 1

Referring now more particularly to the drawing it will appear that the numeral 8 in.

dicates a piece of hand luggage or case having a'body section 9 closed by a pair of'hinged covers 10. Within one of the compartments of the body section is a removable tray 11 mounted on side rails 12. The invention re-` lates particularly to the cover stays, and, as they are identical, only one stay willv be described in detail although it is understood that each cover is preferably fitted with a pair of opposite stays. v'

The improved stay 1s indicated by the nu- Y meral`13, and it comprises an elongated narrow strip formed `of two plies of fabric 14 sewed together. There is interposed between the layers, extending from an end portion inwardly a substantial distance, a reinforcf ing element 1'5formed of band steel, or some other thin material which will give rigidity to a substantiall length of the stay.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each stay is` fastened at its opposite rvend portions by means of tacks or brads 16inserted through i eyeleted .openings 17, respectively to an in* ner side wall of the cover inwardly of its in ner end, and to an inner side wall of the body inwardly of its edge or valance. As

shown, particularly in Fig. 2 the reinforced end portion of the stay is the end portion of jecting stay portions is eliminated.

the stay adjacent the side of the body, and said reinforced stay portion is of a sufcient length to extend a substantial distance beyond the edge or valance of the body side Wall, terminating a trifle above the upper edge of t-he tray l1 when it is in position.

lith the improved cover stays, when the cover is opened the stays function in their usual manner, as shown in Fig. l. However, when the cover is closed, the reinforced portion of the stay, because it extends beyond the joint of the cover and body into the cover, will cause the flexible portion of the stay to break or fold immediately above the end of the reinforcing element, and the folded portions of the stay will be disposed inwardly of the confines of the container or case, (this being the only direction in which it can fold), as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, whereby the case will close properly and the objection of outwardly pro- The folded portions of the stay are not sufficiently long to extend to the joint of the cover and body From the foregoing description it will be seen that the improved container cover stay is both simple and novel, and is well adapted for the purposes described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination with a container having a body section and a cover hinged thereto, of a cover stay extended between inner portions of the cover and body section, said stay having a rigid portion extending substantially beyond the meeting edge portions of the cover and body section and a fiexible portion adjacent the extending end of the rigid portion.

2. The combination with a container having a body section and a cover hinged thereto,rof a cover stay extended between inner portions of the cover and body section remote from the outer edges thereof, a portion of said stay extending froln one section into the other having rigidity and the remainder thereof being fiexible to cause a breaking and folding of the stay inwardly of the confines of the container when the cover is closed.

3. The combination with a container having having a body section and a cover hinged thereto, of an elongated strip forming a cover stay extended between inner side walls of the cover and body section, said stay having a reinforced portion extending from a side wall substantially beyond the meeting edge portions of the cover and body section anda flexible portion extending from the reinforced portion to the other side wall, said flexible portion when folded upon itself being of less length than the distance from the outer end of the reinforced portion to the meeting edge portions of the cover and body section.

4l. The combination with a container having a body section and a cover hinged thereoto, of an elongated strip forming a cover stay CHARLES H. EMERY. 

